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Dear List members,

Sorry to post on such a yucky topic, but I'm concerned.

My background: I have been GF for about four years, though I was not diagnosed
via biopsy.  My doctor thought it was meaningful that I had responded so
well to the GF diet and didn't refer me for more testing.  (I was fine with
that because I didn't want to go back on a gluten diet!)  But this is not
about that, so please don't write to tell me I need to do a gluten challenge
at this point.  My symptoms before were mostly abdominal pain, swelling, and
extreme constipation.

More background: I had a hysterectomy May 13 due to severe endometriosis,
including some that had grown on my intestines and colon.  The surgeon was
able to get most of the endometriosis out during surgery and gave me a good
prognosis.

Current situation (including the icky bit!): For the past three days, bowel
movements have included a good deal of orange oily substance which floats on
top of the water.  I have read this is a typical symptom of the malabsorbtion
caused by untreated (non-GF) Celiac, but I have never had this symptom
before.  In addition, I doubt I've been getting any gluten.  I have been a
part of this list for four years (so I'm very informed!) and I am very
careful.  Also, I have not introduced any new foods to my diet in the past
week.  I haven't had any of the other symptoms I typically have after
accidentally ingesting gluten.

So I'm concerned.  I can't figure out how this could be gluten because I
haven't eaten any (as far as I can tell) and because this was not one of
my symptoms when I was eating gluten regularly.  But from what I can tell, it
could be one of the following things: damage to my intestines secondary to the
surgery, parasite or some sort of infection, or gluten.

I will be seeing my ob/gyn tomorrow for a follow-up visit, so I'll be able
to rule out surgery-related problems, hopefully.  So I have to make an
appointment with my regular doctor.  But most general practitioners don't
know much about gastrointestinal problems, so I may have to get a referral to
a gastroenterologist . . . it could be a long process and I'd like advice if
anyone has any.  Of course, there's a possibility this will clear up
just as suddenly as it arrived!  Thanks.

-Christie in Chandler, AZ

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